Terang Mortlake has been given a home-ground advantage for Saturday's qualifying final against South Warrnambool after league officials were unable to consider using seven other venues because of their sodden condition.
With more than 143mm of rain this month waterlogging grounds across the region, the league said it had no choice but to use Mortlake's D.C Farran Oval on Saturday because its surface, not regularly trained and played on, was the best in the competition.
The league is hoping Warrnambool's Friendly Societies' Park recovers in time to host Sunday's elimination final between Cobden and Koroit.
The Warrnambool and District Football Netball League yesterday announced Reid Oval as the venue for its preliminary finals on Saturday, further complicating the Hampden league's choice.
Chief executive officer Stephen Soulsby said Warrnambool's Reid Oval, Gardens Oval at Port Fairy, Koroit's Victoria Park, Camperdown's Leura Oval and Terang and Cobden recreation reserves had been ruled out because of the state of the football playing surfaces.
North Warrnambool's Bushfield venue was unavailable because of capital works to facilities.
Soulsby said cars had to be towed out of the mud at Reid Oval on the weekend.
"People will look at it as a Terang Mortlake home-ground advantage but they only play three games there a season," he said.
"It is not really like a home-ground advantage of them playing at Terang.
"We probably would have played at Koroit if the ground was well enough but it is not, just based on the ratio of teams involved (from the western end on Saturday)."
He said the league would assess grounds on a week-by-week basis for finals , considering their condition and geographical location for teams involved in all grades of football and netball, not just the senior footy.
"For a finals game you want to try and provide the best playing surface available to you at the time," he said.
Soulsby said the travelling time for South Warrnambool supporters could affect the gate.
"We are probably going to find the gate down a little bit but having four teams from Terang Mortlake involved may offset it.
"We could go there and get a massive crowd, who knows, but it should be a good day."
South Warrnambool coach Nigel Kol supported the Mortlake option.
"It doesn't matter where we play," he said.
Kol said the Roosters' home ground, the Friendly Societies' Park, wasn't in good shape but predicted it would bounce back with a couple of dry days.
He said the Roosters were looking to find an alternative training venue for tonight, probably the Davidson Oval.
He suggested the league should consider allocating Terang Mortlake the away rooms at D.C. Farran Oval.
"I would like them to go to the visitors' rooms because it's only fair that they don't feel as comfortable," he said.
"That is one thing I would like them to consider."
Terang Mortlake coach Damian O'Connor said the Bloods, which had traditionally trained at Mortlake on a Tuesday night before a game there, would hold both training sessions at Terang this week.
He said he expected the league to maintain its tradition of allocating home rooms to the team which finished higher on the ladder, which in this case would be the second-placed Terang Mortlake.
Soulsby said the league had made no decision on which club was allocated the home rooms.
He said the choice of Sunday's venue, the Friendly Societies' Park, was aimed at maximising spectator numbers and would ensure an independent ground for all six football sides.
"Despite South Warrnambool playing in the A grade, A2 and under 15 netball the league does not see this as an advantage to South Warrnambool due to netball courts being of the same surface across the league," he said.
This month's progressive rainfall of 143mm in Warrnambool, above the August average of 106.9mm, is also well above the 127mm that fell in August last year.
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